“He was a pitching coach's dream to work with. And even though he came here and was already one of the best, he still wanted information. He wanted to know everything about the game as far as strategy, relay throws, why certain managers do certain things. He was always in the game even if he wasn't pitching."

Signed for $10 million before the 2007 season, Maddux went 14-11 with a 4.14 ERA that year and returned for another $10 million in 2008. After making 26 starts – 6-9 with a 4.22 ERA – the Padres shipped Maddux to the Dodgers for players to be named later: Michael Watt and Eduardo Perez, neither of whom did much in the organization.

Watt, a left-handed pitcher, climbed as high as Triple-A Tucson in 2012, but did not play in 2013, while Perez, a right-hander, landed in independent ball in 2010 after going 5-2 with a 4.52 ERA over 30 appearances at low Single-A Fort Wayne in 2009.

Maddux, though, still left a lasting impression with the Padres – even if he only pitched a year-and-half out of his 23-year career in San Diego.

“It was an honor and privilege to have Greg as a Padre in my first year as a manager in 2007,” Padres manager Bud Black said Wednesday. “Greg has one of the most astute baseball minds I’ve ever been around. This is a much-deserved honor for someone who is definitely a first-ballot Hall of Famer.”

In the wake of the trade that shipped outfielder Adam Eaton out of Arizona, he said he was surprised to hear an anonymous Diamondback say jettisoning the “selfish” player was “addition by subtraction.”